Archive for December, 2011

Unfortunately, I have to work every other Sunday which forces me to “watch” the Redskins games on the Internet. I choose to follow the games at www.cbssports.com, as I’ve tried all the different sites and CBS is more user friendly and real time than other sites. CBS has a feature which allows you to log in to show your support for the team that you’re rooting for. I’m here to tell you that while the Redskins are 5-9 on the field, we as Redskins fans are getting our asses kicked off the field.

Growing up in NOVA I was surrounded by Redskins fans. My whole family roots for the Skins and most of my friends did. Sure, there were some Cowboys fans around, as well as some random 49er, Raiders and Giants fans…but it was 75% Redskins fans. The Redskins also dominated the Carolina’s and had a strong presence all the way south to Georgia and Florida. Now that I live in Florida I can safely tell you this, Redskins fans are in the minority. Redskins fans have either jumped ship or just don’t care anymore.

It’s evident in the “Support Your Team” feature on CBS Sports. Redskins fans have outnumbered the opponents fans in just 2 of 14 games…defeating only the Cardinals and Rams…2 teams that are terrible and have moved multiple times in their histories. Here’s an example of how outnumbered Redskins fans have been in terms of % of fans:

Over 32,000 fans have casts their votes so the sample size is pretty substantial. What really bothers me is a horrible Carolina team that I considered to be from “Redskins Country” has more fans supporting them…also a Dolphin team that was just 2-7 when they played the Skins had way more fan support.

I’m not sure what the margin or error is here, but my guess is it’s a pretty good gauge. I can tell you this, when I see someone running around the streets of Tampa, FL wearing Redskins garb, 1 of 2 things happen. 1) I take a closer look and realize the person I think is a Skins fan is actually wearing Florida State paraphernalia. Or, 2) the Redskins fan and I are like Tom Hanks and Wilson from ‘Cast Away’.

I have no doubt that the Redskins have lost a substantial amount of fans over the last 10-20 years. I’m just sitting here wondering if they can ever win them back, or can they win a whole new crop of fans in the future? I hope they do, the only way to get the fans is to win.

Jabar Gaffney has had a solid year on the field for the Redskins. Traded for Jeremy Jarmon (who was cut by the Broncos) in the preseason, Gaffney is having a career year and will most likely end the season as the Redskins leader in receptions and receiving yards. He’s also entertained announcers and bloggers with the squirrel he’s smuggling in his pants. The NFL uniform police actually asked Gaffney to stop stuffing his pants with a sock, to which Gaffney had to reply that it wasn’t a sock (true story).

Anyway, that’s not what this post is about. This post is about the entertainment Gaffney has provided on Twitter. New to Twitter, it didn’t take long for Gaffney to tell a Cowboys fan to “get a life or kill urself.” As a Redskins fan who doesn’t take Twitter comments too seriously, I find this quite amusing. Despite his promise that he was “done wit this twitter shit,” Gaffney has continued to tweet. It was this past weekend when Gaffney dropped this tweet in response to his teammate and friend Donte’ Stallworth, who happens to be the guy who convinced Gaffney to join Twitter.

As a person who has an uncanny ability to tell jokes that are inappropriate, I can relate well to Gaffney’s tweet. On the surface the tweet is harmless and it’s inappropriateness is unintentional. Stallworth and Gaffney are merely quoting lines from the movie ‘Life‘ starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. The problem I see here is that Stallworth actually has killed somebody, while under the influence of booze! Fortunately for Stallworth he had a much better attorney than Rayford Gibson and Claude Banks…Stallworth served just 30 days in jail.

Congrats on a successful Holiday season, you certainly have a lot to be thankful for. Not only did the Redskins find a way to lose 2 games against you that they should’ve won, they also defeated the Giants 2 times to put you in control of the NFC East title.

Now, Mr. & Mrs Cowboys Fan, it’s time to look forward to the New Year and to deal with the inevitable. While the Redskins have handed you a gift…we all know that Tony Romo is going to fumble it. Yes, we all know what the future holds, the only question is will Romo f#*k up your season in the next 2 weeks, or will it be in the first round of the playoffs?

I know Romo ruining your year is an annual tradition, but I had a question to ask you. Will you actually get the chance to visit Dallas this year? I know you’ve never been there before…which is odd, because you’re a “die-hard” fan?

I can’t wait to see what the future holds! My warmest Christmas wishes and a Happy New Year.

Jason LaCanfora, current reporter for the NFL Network and former Redskins beat writer, had some interesting things to say in a Twitter feud with current Redskins beat writer stooge Chris Russell.

The topic was the Redskins and while Russell was obviously backing Mike and Kyle Shanahan (Russell is basically a Redskins employee) LaCanfora was against the Shanahan’s personnel decisions to date. In the middle of the back and forth LaCanfora dropped the bombshell above…Trent Williams has 11 failed drug tests since August!

11 failed test in 3 months…that’s a problem. Who’s Williams’ roomate, Rashaan Salaam? There’s no reason any fan should count on Williams being a part of this team moving forward. Another failed test and he’s banned for a year, and LaCanfora’s reporting he failed 11 this season.

Looks like we need another left tackle to go with a franchise quarterback.

I get emails on a weekly basis from different entities wanting me to promote their products. I usually delete the emails & move on because I barely have time to promote my own blog, let alone promote someone else’s business.

Recently, I got an email from Swanson Communications alerting me that the ‘RFK All-Stadium Team’ had been announced in honor of the 50th anniversary of the stadium. While I wasn’t asked directly to promote this, I’m assuming I was emailed this list because I have a Redskins blog…and I just might promote this. After reviewing the list of players included on the ‘RFK All-Stadium Team’, I now have no choice but to blog about it.

The voting process and the results that the votes produced are terrible. The goal was to vote for the top 50 athletes and entertainers that have played or performed at RFK over the years. The problem was Swanson Communications listed every swinging dick who stepped foot in RFK on the ballot…I’m surprised I’m not on there! I was at the seat cushion game and saw a pre-season baseball game in 1985…in the snow. Plus, I was on the field for the last football game played there. Anyway, RFK = football, so the majority of players should’ve been Redskins but they weren’t.

Rather than ramble on I’m going to focus in on a few of the players chosen to the team:

Doug Williams. Williams played in 10 games at RFK, 10 games!!! He completed only 52% of his passes and had only 13 TD’s and 10 INT’s. Dave Butz, Gary Clark and Neal Olkewicz are a few names that come to mind that are more deserving.

Soccer? I’m not a soccer fan but I’d vote a few of these guys in, but certainly not 12 of them. Freddy Adu was a huge bust, we’re going to put him on the ‘All-Stadium Team?’

Cristian Guzman is on the team. Who’s going to sit around telling their grandkids “I saw Cristian Guzman go 1 for 5 with an error at old RFK…good times!”

The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen are no-brainers if you’re going to include entertainers on this “team”. But, Swanson Communications included the likes of Sisqo and Hoobastank in the voting…totally ruins any credibility this “team” has for me.

There’s so many holes in this “team” I could go on forever. I would hope that a more professional vote can be conducted to find the true “RFK All-Stadium Team”. The team provided by this “vote” is nothing more than a farce.